OT: The Book of Isaiah, Chapter 17

Isaiah 17:1-14

17:1-3 Damascus was defeated by Assyria, after Israel planned to attack Judah with Assyria. Isaiah prophesied that it would become a scarce land; God would discipline both his people and his opponents.

17:4-6 There would be a famine for the word of God; it had been abandoned by the people therefore God would retreat. Yet there would remain a few faithful to God and therefore God would remain with them.

17:7-8 God's seemingly-everlasting work is to remind humanity not to dedicate themselves to idolatry. To our detriment, figures and ideals/idols of the world often replace our relationship with God.

17:9-11 Neglect of a relationship with God and adherence to his will causes desolation. False doctrines and false prophets, secular and otherwise, corrupt us from God's truth. We must root ourselves in God's truth for our life to be purposeful, fruitful and blessed.

17:12-14 Woe to organizations with their own doctrines, separate from God for they are woefully misguided. God message and leadership are undiluted truth. He helps us to be productive and righteous, kind and wise: impartial, merciful, hopeful, peaceful.

OT: The Book of Isaiah, Chapter 16

Isaiah 16:1-14

16:1-2 The proclamation against Moab continued; corruption would cause them to lose their habitation. Their faithlessness would cause them to wander through life in a figurative and literal sense. 

16:3-4 The people began to wail about their desperate situation. They want help but do not nourish a relationship with God or commitment to righteousness. They realized the desperation of their reality.

16:5 The merciful throne of God will be ultimately established.

16:6-7 Their pride and arrogance brought Moab down (Similar to Satan in Ezekiel 28). They would lament their situation. The word "Kir Hareseth" is fortress but pressed down, a raisin-cake. They had no sustenance/protection.

16:8-9 Deception had spread across Moab; they participated in worship of false-gods. Relied on idols rather than sustaining a relationship with God. They were filled with sorrow about their desolation but it was caused by faithlessness and could only be solved by repentance and a return to true faith.

16:10-11 Subsequent discipline would cause Moab to reflect on their situation soberly. They had neglected God's vineyard, metaphorically, and therefore their lives became a barren land.

16:12 Inauthentic, unrepentant prayer is not a viable solution. We can only turn our lives around when we listen and learn and change and dedicate our lives, hearts, minds and souls to God's will.

16:13-14 Isaiah delivered prophesy that Moab would destruct soon. Faithlessness drained them of their provision and strength.

Conversely, we retain our strength and provision when we retain our faith. When we retain our faith, we keep open communication with God. We listen to Him and follow Him and are subsequently led into blessing. Behaving in opposition to God's will and righteousness causes inevitable desolation.

OT: The Book of Isaiah, Chapter 15

Isaiah 15:1-9

15:1-4 A proclamation against Moab; God promised destruction of the corrupt city.

15:5-9 Sin and corruption cause desolation. Unrighteousness ruins people and places that could have been verdant and thriving.

OT: The Book of Isaiah, Chapter 14

Isaiah 14:1-32

14:1 Despite our tendency to disobey and even disregard God, He still chooses us. He chooses us and He takes care of us. And such was the plan for Israel, even when they opposed Him. After a period of discipline to realign them with righteousness and their God, He planned to settle them once again.

14:2 Obedience to God, faith in Him, brings complete reversal to our desolate situations. We are freed by faith, literally and figuratively. Captives of no man, as children of God. God's presence provides the prosperity of peace.

14:3-8 Israel would receive rest and relief from their captive, Babylon.

14:9-11 They would witness the complete destruction of Babylon by God's hand. And in a prophetic sense, so will we. The whole earth will rest and praise God for His removal of the wicked.

14:12-15 These verses correspond with Revelation 12 and Ezekiel 28; Satan's pride and lust for power culminated in the biggest ever act of rebellion against God. It also resulted in God sentencing him to death for his corrupt plan for power.

14:16-17 God will put Satan and his acts on display so that humanity will know that Satan was never actually powerful at all.

14:18-21 Because of his unrepentant, consistently evil work, Satan will be removed from existence.

14:22-23 God will thoroughly remove the house of the wicked and those who uphold it. 

14:24-27 Isaiah prophesied for the house of Israel as well as for the future, all wicked enemies destroyed. No man or nation can escape from the plan God has established.

14:28-32 Isaiah delivered a message to several corrupt nations, and also to the corruption at the end of times: destruction is scheduled for release.

OT: The Book of Isaiah, Chapter 13

Isaiah 13:1-22

13:1-3 God's prophet was instructed to get the Babylonian nation's attention: God has a message for them. Their corrupt behavior caused God to allow an enemy into their land to take it over. Evil cannot retain its land, its power or possessions. It cannot retain its life. 

13:4-5 A massive army approached to bring destruction to the entire land. 

13:6-8 The wicked will be made to lament because of their unrighteous lifestyle. They will witness the loss of all of their corruptly-obtained power and possession.

13:9-10 Isaiah prophesied for an ancient Babylonian people but he also prophesies for the ultimate arrival of God. God will arrive with judgement for the unrighteous and His presence will be enough to rewrite the laws of nature as we know them.

13:11-16 The system of the world will be punished and humbled because of its corruption. God's wrath is ignited when unrighteous harms the well-bring of His children and therefore He arrives with a firm and fierce plan of judgement. 

13:17-22 The corrupt kingdom/system of the world turned to a wasteland. A wasteland to reflect what their own corruption had done to it.

OT: The Book of Isaiah, Chapter 12

Isaiah 12:1-6

12:1 The Psalmist chooses to praise God, understanding that God's discipline is an act of vehement love. God provides us with discipline as well as comfort; our journey of instruction from Him is a rewarding one.

12:2 After all, God's loving discipline is meant to rescue us. He is always leading us toward something better, or a more mature version of ourselves. Those who love Him, trust without fear, because He has promised blessing to those who obey His righteous will.

God is our Lord, the compassionate, capable, powerful authority in our lives. God is our strength, He supplements every weakness we have and helps us to develop those figurative muscles to avoid weakness in future. God is our song, He is the hope playing steadfastly in the background of our every moment. He is the sweet joy we have, as His presence always secures us in purpose and love and safety.

12:3 Therefore it is with joy that we listen to Him, follow Him, obey Him. It is with joy that we study His word, because from it we derive the wisdom of life and heart and spirit. To draw from God is to draw from a well of salvation, constantly renewing and restoring.

12:4 We praise His name among our family, friends, community, region, nation, and world. We praise because we love Him; we praise because others' deserve to know that they can have a relationship with Him, indeed we praise as a testimony. We praise because He deserves praise for all of the plans of justice, righteousness and compassion He has for humanity and us as individuals. We praise because He is good and honest and kind and fair and beautiful and creative... we praise everyday for more and new reasons. We praise about the hope He ensures we are right to believe in.

OT: The Book of Isaiah, Chapter 11

Isaiah 11:1-16

11:1-2 This chapter prophesies the life and majesty of Jesus. Jesus who is the embodiment of the word of God, with the Spirit of God, wisdom,understanding, counsel, might, knowledge and reverence of the Lord. Jesus would be born through David's, the son of Jesse, lineage.

11:3-5 Jesus' delight is the revere the Lord. Without partiality or subjectivity, Jesus judges with righteousness. He powerfully delivers justice to the poor and meek. He powerfully destroys the wicked, corrupt, and cruel of the world. He is faithful to and righteous in the will of God.

11:6-9 When the Kingdom of God comes to earth, there will no longer be contentious spirits between anyone, even animals. The knowledge of God will subdue the wickedness from the whole earth.

11:10 And the whole earth will have Jesus... and will seek Him and find rest in His glorious presence.

11:11 The Lord will remember and recover His lost and scattered peoples.

11:12 He will gather His child and be a banner to them, beckoning them home.

11:13-16 Envy and dispersion will desist. Adversaries will lose their power and their voice. God will restore power to the righteous and the righteous, by God's power, will overcome the evil. It will be a clear and lighted path for those who, of their own volition, wholeheartedly choose to walk into the Kingdom of God... according to the will of the kingdom of God.